MBA2426 Q&A Wednesday: How do I sell my first product with no email list or following?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The $100 MBA Show Episode: MBA2426 Q&A Wednesday: How Do I Sell My First Product with No Email List or Following? Release Date: February 7, 2024
Host: Omar Zenhom

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Introduction

In episode MBA2426 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom tackles a common challenge faced by budding entrepreneurs: selling a first product without an existing email list or social media following. This Q&A session provides actionable strategies drawn from Omar's extensive 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience, offering listeners practical solutions to kickstart their business ventures.

Listener's Question

Matt asks:
"How do I sell my first product with no email list or following on social media?"

Omar’s Comprehensive Response

Omar begins by reassuring Matt and other listeners that selling without a pre-existing audience is entirely feasible. He emphasizes that many successful businesses started without large followings, relying instead on innovative sales and marketing strategies.

1. Embrace the Possibility

Omar encourages entrepreneurs to believe in their product:

"It's okay to have a product for sale and no following yet, no audience yet, no email list. As long as you got a product that people want, then you can sell it and you can make money."
(02:15)

However, he underscores the importance of eventually building an audience, as tools like email marketing and social media can provide cost-effective, repeatable marketing channels.

2. Paid Acquisition Strategies

When lacking an audience, paid marketing becomes a vital tool. Omar outlines several paid acquisition methods:

a. Online Advertising

Utilize platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Google Ads to rent access to large, engaged audiences:

"You are spending money to rent an audience from the Internet."
(04:20)

Downside: The access is temporary; once you stop paying, the audience disconnects.

Strategy Tip: Use ads to redirect potential customers to your own channels, like email lists, to build a sustainable audience base.

b. Sponsorships

Collaborate with established influencers or businesses that share a target audience:

"It's kind of like a mini Facebook ad. You're going into very direct, and it's very powerful because this audience trusts this person and they're basically endorsing you."
(05:30)

Example: If selling men’s shampoo, partner with a men’s fashion influencer whose followers are likely interested in grooming products.

c. Affiliate Marketing

Set up an affiliate program where partners earn a commission for promoting your product:

"If your affiliate commission is generous enough, 30, 40, even 50%, if your margins are really good, then they will promote your product and get a kickback when they make a sale."
(06:00)

Benefits:

• Low upfront costs: Pay affiliates only when sales occur.
• Extended reach: Leverage the affiliates’ existing audiences.

Tools Mentioned: Rewardful is highlighted as an effective platform to manage affiliate programs.

3. Outbound Sales (One-on-One Approach)

Omar advocates for direct selling as a powerful method to secure initial sales and build relationships:

"Sales is a numbers game. You'll have this list of 50 and because you have a list of 50, you can close 10 to 15 customers."
(07:10)

Steps to Implement:

1. Create a Target List: Compile a list of potential customers from your personal network, conferences, meetups, and other events.
2. Personal Outreach: Reach out individually via calls, emails, or face-to-face meetings.
3. Offer Value: Provide incentives such as free trials, setup assistance, or discounts to make the purchase decision easier.
4. Gather Insights: Use these interactions to understand customer needs, refine your product, and enhance your marketing language.

Personal Experience Shared: Omar recounts starting his own consulting firm through one-on-one sales, using initial revenue to fund paid marketing efforts.

4. Networking and Building Relationships

Building a strong personal network is crucial for long-term success:

"You’ll want to get out there, go to conferences, go to meetups, go to events... exchange LinkedIns and contacts... follow up afterwards."
(08:45)

Key Actions:

• Attend Industry Events: Engage with peers and potential clients.
• Follow Up: Maintain connections through personalized messages and continued interactions.
• Leverage Relationships: These connections can lead to referrals and collaborations, expanding your reach organically.

Key Takeaways

• Start Without Fear: Selling without an audience is challenging but manageable with the right strategies.
• Invest in Relationships: Whether through paid ads, sponsorships, or direct sales, building genuine connections is paramount.
• Persistence Pays Off: Initial efforts may be tough, but consistency will lead to momentum and growth.
• Balance Paid and Organic Growth: Use paid strategies to kickstart sales and simultaneously work on building sustainable, owned marketing channels like email lists.

Notable Quotes

• On Overcoming Initial Challenges:

  "This might feel uncomfortable, but this is going to allow you to know all the different things people worry about... you gotta be proud of your product..."
  (09:20)

• Encouragement for Entrepreneurs:

  "Most people don't do the hard stuff. It's the barrier that stops people from actually doing the stuff that matters."
  (12:10)

• On Differentiation:

  "People that are willing to do the hard work are few and far. Trust me, I've been doing this business thing for 20 years. Most people don't do the basics."
  (12:45)

Conclusion

In this episode, Omar Zenhom provides a comprehensive roadmap for entrepreneurs looking to sell their first product without a prior following or email list. By leveraging paid marketing, sponsorships, affiliate programs, and direct sales, coupled with relentless networking and relationship-building, emerging businesses can overcome the initial barriers to entry. Omar’s emphasis on persistence and the willingness to engage directly with potential customers serves as an inspiring call to action for anyone embarking on their entrepreneurial journey.

For more insights and actionable business lessons, listeners are encouraged to follow The $100 MBA Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or their preferred podcast platform.

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This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key discussions and strategies shared by Omar Zenhom in episode MBA2426.

Transcript

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[Omar Zenhom]

Hey oh. Welcome to the $100 MBA Show. Practical business lessons you can count on. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zenholm. And today's episode is Q and A Wednesday, where I answer a question from one of you, one of our listeners. If you got a question you want to ask, go ahead and email me over at [e-mail] Today's question is from Matt and Matt asks how do I sell my first product with no email list or following on social media? No fear, Matt. I got your back. You have options. And your problem is not unique. Most businesses don't have followings before they start selling their products or services. There was no such thing as an email list or a following 30 years ago. Okay, so all the businesses that came before that, how to find a way to sell their product without any contacts or emails or presence on social it didn't exist. I'm going to share with you some options that you can explore so you can start selling your product, making some money while growing your audience so that you can then use your organic audience, whether it's through email or through social media, to start promoting your products and services. Get free traffic and and conversions. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. I want to start by saying that it's okay to have a product for sale and no following yet, no audience yet, no email list. As long as you got a product that people want, then you can sell it and you can make money. Having said that, it's always a Good idea to grow your audience, to grow your email list, to have somebody to talk to and tell them about what you do. Why? Because these forms of marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, YouTube channels, podcasts, whatever they are, they're low cost per acquisition marketing, it's going to cost you less to get a customer because they are free forms of marketing, in essence, or low cost, I should say. And it's marketing that you can tap into over and over. You own this following on your email list. So just because you're going to get a solution today doesn't to sell your product without a following doesn't mean to not to grow your following or not to grow your email list. This should be one of your priorities as a business owner. So what are your options to sell your product with no email list, with no social. Well, since the beginning of business time, this is a problem that people throw money at, right? It's called marketing. Paid marketing. In this example, where you're going to acquire attention and you're going to acquire customers via paid marketing. This could take the shape of Facebook ads, Instagram ads, TikTok ads, YouTube ads, Google Ads, you name it, banner ads. You are spending money to rent an audience from the Internet. Okay, so Facebook's got an audience, right? Of captive audience of people that are logging in every day. Instagram's got the same thing. All the social media platforms have the same. And they're willing to let you tap into that audience if you pay them money. That's what an ad is. Now, the downside of this is that you don't have access to this audience when you're not paying. So you're renting the audience, so to speak. So my advice is always try to do something with your advertisements to get them to move off Facebook to your audience, which is your email list. So getting to sign up for some sort of freebie, even a discount code, is great because now they're off Facebook and onto your database. And then now you can market to them over and over via email at no extra charge. So paid acquisition is huge. But paid acquisition is not just ads. You can also get in front of an existing audience that would be interested in your products via sponsorships. So say, for example, you sell shampoo for men. You can go to an existing business or influencer in the space that has a great audience, like a great email list that would be interested in your product. Maybe a fashion specialist or expert that has an email list of 100,000 people and they specialize in men's fashion. People that Buy nice clothes that are interested in fashion, care about what they look like, care about what they feel like, and will care about their shampoo. So you might approach this person and say, hey, I know you got a great, thriving audience. I want to run an ad in your newsletter. I want to sponsor your newsletter and I want you to email your. Your audience promoting my product. This is a very direct way to get in front of people that would buy your product. This is kind of like a mini Facebook ad. You're kind of going into very direct. And it's very powerful because this audience trusts this person and they're basically endorsing you. And email's a whole lot more compelling and a lot more effective. And the conversions are much higher than ads. So you can get creative when it comes to paid acquisition, not just ads on social. You might be saying, well, Omar, I don't have a lot of money to spend on ads. No problem. Are you willing to give them a cut of the sale? This is called affiliate marketing. So you can create an affiliate program. There's a lot of great software out there when it comes to creating a simple and easy affiliate program. Rewardful is one I've used before. That's good. And basically you can reach out to these influencers, you can reach out to these audiences, reach out to the people that have access to the people that you want to get in front of, bloggers, YouTubers, and say, would you be willing to promote my product for an affiliate commission? And if your affiliate commission is generous enough, 30, 40, even 50%, if your margins are really good, then they will promote your product and get a kickback when they make a sale. This allows you to have some sort of marketing with no marketing budget, because again, you're only paying them when they actually make a referral when a sale gets made. So when you make money, they make money.

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[Omar Zenhom]

Another way to sell your product without any following or or email list is just hand to hand combat one on one sales. This is also known as outbound sales where you're just trying to make one sale at a time. Now, if you have a software product, if you have a service that maybe is high, ticket a few thousand dollars, $10,000 for your service, this is well worth it. You're going to reach out to people that you believe would love your product and you're going to do everything you can to get them on a phone call, get them on a video call and show them the benefits and make it a no brainer for them to sign up. Product free setup free 30 days for free. In the beginning, maybe a trial, maybe you're going to do all their setup and onboard them for free or switch them from a current provider to your provider or your service, I should say, and show them the return on investment. And you're going to do this over and over with new clients. A lot of businesses start this way. I started this way. I had a business and consulting firm and I just did it one on one. All my services I would reach out people I thought would love my product, love my service. I did that enough times to make enough revenue to then take that revenue and invest in paid marketing. So make a list of anybody and everybody you know that you've met at a conference, that you've met at a meetup, people that you've emailed just personally through your Gmail account. Stretch yourself to come up with a list of 50 people. You might be thinking, 50. That's a lot. Try your best. Maybe it's somebody you don't know directly, but somebody that knows somebody. They can make an introduction for you. The point here is that you want to go through this list and reach out and try to sell your product or service to them directly. The crazy thing is that sales is a numbers game. You'll have this list of 50 and because you have a list of 50, you can close 10 to 15 customers. That's going to be enough for you to get started and start investing in marketing. This might feel uncomfortable, but this is going to allow you to know all the different things people worry about, that people care about when it comes to your product or service, the language they use. You may even want to record these video calls so that you can research them and use them in your marketing copy. The point here is that you gotta be proud of your product or service. You gotta be willing to sell it to other people if you're gonna believe in your business. A following is also in real life, your network. So get out there, go to conferences, go to meetups, go to events, go to retreats, go to dinners, go to as many events in your space that you can so you can meet new people, so that they can meet you, so that you can, you know, exchange linkedins and contacts and all that kind of stuff. And then follow up afterwards, send them a message that day or the next day and say, hey, it was great meeting you. Let's grab coffee, let's have a call, let's bounce ideas off each other for 20 minutes. You're building your network because, hey, you never know, they might need you in the future. They might refer you to somebody they know that needs you. This is how business gets done and has gotten done for centuries. Yes, literally centuries. That's how people did commerce. They talked to people, they knew people, and people knew them. That wraps up today's Q and A Wednesdays episode. Matt, I hope that helps and helps everybody who's listening, who's thinking about, hey, how do I sell my product? I don't have a following on social or an email list. You can just get started and start doing it. This is the most challenging time you're going to have. In the beginning, it's a little bit rough going. This is like trying to get your sled down the hill. In the beginning, you got to kind of push manually to get some traction, to get some momentum. And then once you start making a few sales, you start sliding down and the momentum guides you through and gets you some wins. If you got a question you want to ask here on Q and A Wednesday, go ahead and email me over at [e-mail] I'll make sure to answer right here on the show. If you love today's episode, if you loved any of our episodes, the best way to show your support is to follow the podcast. Hit follow on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or any podcast app you're using right now. This sends the signal to the algorithm that, hey, this show's all right, and allows us to reach more listeners so that we can keep on improving this show and keep providing you amazing value. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. You know why I say it's hard to do this stuff in the beginning, to talk to people, to meet people, to close sales one on one, to get on these calls and try to make your first sales happen. I don't say this to discourage you. It's actually to encourage you. Because most people don't do the hard stuff. It's the barrier that stops people from actually doing the stuff that matters. And if you do it, you will differentiate yourself. You will actually get ahead. It's actually pretty empty at the top of the mountain. People that are willing to do the hard work are few and far. Trust me, I've been doing this business thing for 20 years. Most people don't do the basics. And that makes it easier for you because you're willing to do it because you want it bad. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in Friday's episode. I'll see you then. Take care. Foreign.

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[Omar Zenhom]

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